Review: Warbler Prelude

The mids to me is where the Warbler Prelude feels best and shines. They are rich, musical and sound dynamic. The mids also have good separation and Warbler managed to give the right amount of space and air to them. I find the layering to be best in the mids but the same comment about the layering of the bass goes here as well. With some types of music and with more forward sounding sources, the upper mids and voices sometimes can sound somewhat forward and unnatural (airy) though. But that might be just the thing you’re looking for.

The Prelude’s treble is energetic and it has good detail and extension. Treble is never harsh or offensive but I wouldn’t call it a (too) smooth delivery either. Treble is always there and keeps you on the tip of your toes. It fits perfectly in line with the precise character and fast pace of the bass and mids and it shows the same clarity and detail. With some songs, for me personally, treble can sound a bit too airy and unnatural however. A bit like what I described for the upper mids in the last paragraph.

The Warbler Prelude is an expert in detail/resolution and as such I advise using a source like the AK380/SP1000/MOJO/Hugo2/X7II with top quality files, to get the very best out of it. The Warbler Prelude is kind of sensitive though and it will pick up some noise from the less silent DAPs and amplifiers.

The Prelude overall delivers a very good performance, it’s impossible to deny that. While it certainly and easily outperforms several multiple driver ciems, some others still play at an even higher level. Think body, depth, texture, sound stage, extension and especially layering. Check out some comparisons in the next chapter if you like to know more about this, but don’t get me wrong: The Warbler Prelude is really good and it does exactly what Warbler designed it to do.

7. Competitors/Comparisons

The Lime Ears Aether as you may recall has a switch to activate the sub-woofer. With the woofer turned off the amount bass of the Prelude is bigger but the Prelude in general is lighter body-wise with a more forward presentation as well as more upfront vocals. With the Aether’s sub turned on, the bass has more body and impact than the Prelude’s bass but it’s mostly the layering that improves. The Aether is thicker sounding in general from bottom to top where the Prelude has a more neutral, clean and faster sound. The voices in the Aether are softer than in the more energetic Prelude. Treble in the Aether is a lot softer than from the Prelude, and the Prelude sounds further extended in the top region.

The silicone Custom Art Harmony 8.2 has more forward vocals like the Prelude but that last one has more body in general than the 8.2 has. The Warbler Prelude has a natural, yet energetic, presentation compared to the flat, more analytic sounding 8.2. Sometimes the Prelude can be a bit much for vocals though. The Prelude sounds more musical and airy and that’s especially noticeable in the mids section. Body-wise the Prelude is bigger everywhere. The CA still is a very fine and more balanced monitor with excellent separation, depth and extension, it’s just more analytically tuned. The bigger sounding Prelude, compared to the 8.2, has higher, more airy mids and voices that jump out more.

The Vision Ears VE8 is more balanced and richer than the Prelude. The VE8’s depth and extension is wonderful and the delivery is natural. The VE8 has more body in its presentation compared to the Prelude. Against the VE8, the Prelude’s voices are softer/thinner and the treble is as well (more extension on VE8). The voices and upper mids are more airy on the Prelude.

8. Driveability & Sources

The Astell&Kern AK70 adds some body to the Prelude’s sound and it makes it sound very musical and detailed, but presented in a slightly slower and smoother way. The voices are a tad softer compared to the SP1000 or Mojo/Hugo 2 pairing and you get an easy to like, non-fatiguing sound I can perfectly live with.

The Fiio X5III to me still is the Fiio with the best design and it’s the easiest to use Fiio DAP. The balanced output of the X5III however isn’t the quietest and the Prelude does pick up some of the noise from the balanced port during playback. If you can forget about the noise you’ll hear a smoother, yet detailed Prelude that just like the AK70 is a tad warmer (but not as much as the AK70), but musical and extremely easy to listen to. I personally prefer the treble in combination with the AK70 as it on the X5III is very soft and missing a little energy.

From the new Fiio X7II with the new balanced AM3A module the Prelude still picks up some noise (but less so) and the sound is more detailed and less warm. You can hear more energy and better dynamics with a faster pace. Layering is also one the best of the before mentioned DAPs and treble is most extended. The X7II AM3A has the more typical “audiophile” tuning unlike the warmer and smoother AK70 and X5III and it really makes the Prelude sing.

The Astell&Kern SP1000 is dead silent with the Prelude and the Prelude gets a lot of detail from it. The SP1000 has a more analytical character but you get an incredibly rich sound with the perfect amount of body and air and the best possible separation. You also get the widest and deepest sound stage and the layering on the Prelude is best in this combination. Some might find it too “audiophile” sounding however as the delivery is fast, detailed and very clean. There’s no room here for smoothness and warmth.

It’s clear that the Prelude plays well from all these different DAPs, the sound signatures just changes a little depending on the characteristics of the player used, but I can genuinely enjoy the Warbler Prelude from any of these sources, although it’s hard for me to not hear the noise on some DAPs, that’s the DAP’s fault though.

I’m a big fan of how the Prelude sounds from the Mojo, fed by the SP1000 over optical. You get a well-defined, fast and tight sound with gorgeous bass and great dynamics. Treble is extended and lively while the mids are rich and spacious. From Chords new Hugo 2 you get that same level of detail and awesome dynamics but the delivery is a little softer and the Prelude sounds easier on the ear. Bass is bit smaller body-wise but you get a balanced and linear sound in return from the high-end Hugo 2.

From my Samsung S6 phone you also get a musical presentation but the level of detail and dynamics isn’t as much present. You get a looser, less defined kind of sound and if you know what the Prelude is capable of, then it’s a shame to listen to it like this. The Warbler Prelude deserves a good source.

Conclusion

The performance Warbler brought to the market is incredible. You may or not like its typical signature with more forward voices but it’s tonality, detail, speed and precision are exemplary and Warbler certainly sets the bar very high for the competition and who knows for their own multiple driver customs down the line if they do decide to go there.

The Warbler Prelude is easy to pair and I basically liked it with every single amp or DAP I tried it with, you’ll just hear the characteristics of your source appear in the sound, but isn’t that exactly what we want?

The Warbler Prelude isn’t cheap but if you look at the Prelude’s performance, the research & development that was done and all the valuable time it took to do so, the $1000 USD asking price actually doesn’t shock me. The Prelude’s sound will shock you though, but only in a positive way. The sound quality the Warbler team delivers with their first monitor is impressive and I haven’t seen many do so.

If you then realize they all doing it with one single BA driver, you can call it a small miracle.